RiverClan's Destiny
by BrooklynBAS
Summary: This story takes a turn and moves into RiverClan territory. Mistyfoot's kits have just been apprenticed and are unknowingly part of a prophecy determining the fate of their clan. Join Drizzlepaw, Puddlepaw, and their father Rainpath on a journey to save RiverClan.


**Chapter 1**

"Mmmph!" Puddlekit moaned as she hit the hard earth with a thud. "Stop it Drizzlekit!" The two kits were playing outside the RiverClan nursery, while their mother Mistyfoot was relaxing peacefully inside.

"You're no fun! You don't fight back," Drizzlekit complained to her littermate. She pounced for her sister's tail, which she knew Puddlekit hated.

"Rainpath!" Puddlekit wailed in agony as her sister's weight sent pain shooting up her tail. Rainpath came rushing over to the two of them in an instant, trying to be as fatherly as possible.

"Now girls," he scolded, "You've been in the clan for about six moons now and it quite time you've started acting like app-" Rainpath was interrupted by Crookedstar, the clan leader calling the cats to a clan meeting.

"Let all cats old enough to swim gather to hear my words." The young sisters followed their father to the clearing in the center of RiverClan camp. "I would like to call up Drizzlekit, and Puddlekit. You both have been in this clan for six moons and it is time you've been made apprentices. From this day forward until you are a warrior," Crookedstar paused and looked at the black and white kit, "you will be known as Drizzlepaw. Lakestorm will be your mentor. It is time you've had an apprentice. Let all that you have learned be passed on to this young cat." Drizzlepaw looked out into the surrounding cats, and spotted Lakestorm, and gently touched noses with him.

Crookedstar then looked down on the other kit, "And this apprentice will be known as Puddlepaw. Rainpath, you have proved to be a great warrior and it is time you have had another apprentice. I hope you will pass all of your knowledge on to Puddlepaw." Puddlepaw then very clumsily touched noses with her father. He walked back into the crowd to join his brother.

While the RiverClan cats shouted the new Apprentices names, Drizzlepaw quietly mewed to her sister, "Lucky! You get dad as your mentor."

Puddlepaw replied "Well, he'll probably work me harder then Lakestorm will be working you."

The sisters trotted off towards the pile of fresh kill being congratulated by many on their way.

"Great job!" meowed Graystripe, a former ThunderClan warrior, who came to RiverClan to raise his kits. His mate was Silverstream, Drizzlepaw and Puddlepaw's mother's best friend, who died giving birth to her kits. Featherkit and Stormkit bounded up behind their father, and rammed into Drizzlepaw, forgetting to halt in time to save themselves, and the older she-cat. The three cats skidded backwards in a tangled mess, nearly running over Puddlepaw.

Puddlepaw leaped out of the way dodging the ball of young cats that kept rolling, and finally stopped after reaching the bushes on the other side of the clearing.

After a few seconds, Drizzlepaw finally came out covered in leaves and dirt. She was staggering from side to side, her eyes rolling back and forth. "So….. Dizzy…."

She collapsed in a heap on the ground, nearly squashing her sister.

Graystripe then congratulated Puddlepaw, for Drizzlepaw was still in an unconscious heap, and went off to find his children.

"Hi!" Rushpaw said enthusiastically as he spotted the sisters. Rushpaw played with Puddlepaw and Drizzlepaw when all three of them were in the nursery together. He was born a moon before them, and had visited them less as he became an apprentice. He purred with amusement, before picking up Drizzlepaw by the scruff of her neck. "I'm so glad you guys are finally apprentices. It's been so lonely with out you." He said through a mouth of fur, sounding very muddled.

They set Drizzlepaw down and went to get some fresh kill. Puddlepaw picked herself a small, but juicy fish, and a bigger one for Drizzlepaw. Rushpaw, being bigger and older, got a bigger one about twice the size of Puddlepaw's. "How do you eat all that!" exclaimed Puddlepaw. "I would never be able to eat that much in one sitting."

Suddenly, Drizzlepaw began to stir. She was mumbling about the strangest things. Puddlepaw could swear she said something like "Give it back… It's my tail," and things like "Mother ate my nose." It was all very strange, but amusing. Drizzlepaw finally shot open her eyes and attacked her sister. Then she saw the fish and dove right in.

"How do you eat so fast?" Puddlepaw asked her sister, rudely staring open mouthed. Rushpaw purred with amusement.

"Whuaght?" demanded Drizzlepaw through a mouthful of fish. She gulped down the rest of her fish in one bite. She then lay down and watched as the others finished their food.

Half way through his meal, Rushpaw realized that he couldn't finish it easily on his own, so he left to take the other half to Mudfur, the RiverClan medicine cat.

Drizzlepaw watched him as he went all the way until Puddlepaw prodded her sister with her paw, making Drizzlepaw whip her head around to glare at Puddlepaw. "What was that for?"

She smiled smugly, and nodded towards the medicine cats den. "What's with you and Rushpaw all of a sudden? I've seen the way you look at him."

"So? What about it? And why should you care anyways?!" Drizzlepaw shot at her sister.

"I was just trying to come up with a conversation!" Puddlepaw shot back, "And maybe next time try not to make such a big deal about it! I'm just your sister! I should be allowed a little information about your life!" By then Drizzlepaw had already stomped off, her tail flicking angrily from side to side.

About a minute passed before Puddlepaw decided to go find her sister. It was easy for Puddlepaw to locate her littermate, and had always had a connection with her sister that the others didn't. She could tell how her sister was feeling, and where she was. They had a special connection in that way, like no other cat could feel.

Drizzlepaw could feel the connection too, and could tell that when Puddlepaw apologized, it was sincere. "I'm sorry too," Drizzlepaw said nuzzling her sister's cheek, "I guess I should have-"

"I was wondering where you two had scurried off to!" Rushpaw interrupting Drizzlepaw, with only his head visible through the bushes. He popped it back out and waited for the girls to crawl out.

When the three apprentices reached the camp, they were all exhausted, and were yawning constantly. "We should," he paused, stiffening a yawn, "go to bed now," Rushpaw said as he sleepily walked towards the apprentice den for a good nights sleep. "See you tomorrow," he murmured over his shoulder.

Puddlepaw turned and began padding over to the nursery, needing to be redirected by Drizzlepaw to the apprentice den where they would now sleep until they were named warriors. They chose two empty nests, one beside Rushpaw's, the other just beside that one. They settled down and fell asleep immediately awaiting their training in the morning.

Rainpath awoke to the sun streaming through the entrance to the warrior's den. As he groggily padded out, he looked up at the sky and realized that the sun had risen a while ago. He decided to get a bite to eat, and think about the day of training that was swiftly approaching.

"Rainpath, I think we should start slowly maybe with a tour of the territory?" suggested Lakestorm, sitting down beside his brother with a water vole at his paws.

"Okay." Rainpath nodded. "When should we wake them?" Rainpath added.

"Let them rise when they feel it necessary."

Less than a minute later, the morning peace had been interrupted by a coumotion coming from the apprentices den.

"Hey!"

"Sorry!"

"Watch it!"

"You watch it!" Drizzlepaw spat over her shoulder as she exited the den. Puddlepaw was following her, as they crossed the clearing and approached their mentors.

"Ok… I wasn't expecting it to be so soon." Lakestorm whispered to Rainpath who nodded his head in agreement.

"So, what are we going to do today?" Puddlepaw asked intently, approaching the older cats.

"Well," began Rainpath, "a tour of RiverClan terri-"

"Seriously," interrupted Drizzlepaw. "A tour of the territory? Come on. I think we should be fighting, or hunting at least." She turned to Puddlepaw wanting her to back her up, but her sister's eyes widened, and she shook her head. A tour of the territory was good enough for the little she-cat. Drizzlepaw sighed, and laid her head down on her paws.

"Drizzlepaw, show Rainpath some respect. Not only is he a clanmate, but he is also your father." Lakestorm scolded. He stood up, and gestured for them to follow with a flick of his tail, and the four of them walked in a line out of the camp.

"This is the river," Rainpath explained. "Drizzlepaw, get back here this instant! Don't you dare think about getting in the water!" Drizzlepaw froze, and scuttled back to Lakestorm's side. "Thank you." Rainpath sighed and continued. "Most hunting will be done in the river. Our battle strengths will be found in these waters. And many battles will be fought and won."

They continued on, passing the Twoleg Bridge along the rivers edge

"Mistyfoot!" Puddlepaw yelped, exited to see her mother, who was out hunting. She tried to run to her, but failed, and tripped over her paws,plummeting face first down onto the ground.

Mistyfoot smiled and walked over to her family. "Fancy meeting you here," She said as she bent down to pick up Puddlepaw from the snow bank.

"I never knew RiverClan was so big Mistyfoot," Drizzlepaw replied, looking up into the she-cats eyes.

"We were just about to show them the border between RiverClan and ThunderClan," Rainpath commented.

"May I join you four?" Mistyfoot asked, sounding genuinely intrigued. She looked at Rainpath for an answer, her eyes joined with her daughters pleading looks.

"Of course," Lakestorm answered for his brother. The five cats continued trudging through the snow.

When they reached a certain spot Puddlepaw noticed her mothers head droop. She walked over and sat beside Mistyfoot. "Is this…" she gulped, afraid to say what she knew had happened "Wh-where…"

"Yes," Mistyfoot replied saving her daughter the pain. The cats were at the spot where Silverstream, Mistyfoot's best friend, and Graystripe's mate, had died, giving birth to Featherkit and Stormkit.

They sat there joined by Drizzlepaw, and mourned their lost friend in silence for a few moments. Drizzlepaw was the first to recover from the sadness, and once again, tried to creep over to the waters edge. She received a hard look from Lakestarom, and backed away. They walked along the thunderClan border, and soon reached the other side of their territory.

"So do you two smell that?" Rainpath quizzed the apprentices.

"Yes" they said in unison.

"It smells like cats" Drizzlepaw offered.

"And like open air and rabbits!" Puddlepaw said.

"Hmph. I was going to say th-" Drizzlepaw muttered.

"Good," Rainpath said finishing off the oncoming argument. "That's WindClan scent."

"When you smell this, it means you have either wandered onto their territory, or they are on ours." Lakestorm continued.

"If there on our territory what do we do?" Puddlepaw asked, a slight hint of fear in her voice.

"We attack!" Drizzlepaw said suddenly pouncing on her sister, smiling smugly, when Puddlepaw let out a short high pitched squeal.

"Not necessarily," Mistyfoot chided. "If it's just you, and especially at your young age, you would run as fast as you can to camp and tell the first warrior you come upon."

"Oh…" Drizzlepaw said in a sad tone.

"Also," continued Lakestorm, "Just because they are in our territory, doesn't mean they've come to fight. Sometimes, it can mean that they have come to settle an argument, or they could be peacefully taking a trip to the Moonstone."

"Ooh! I want to go to the Moonstone!" blurted Puddlepaw.

"Not until you're older," Rainpath told her, "It's a hard and long journey, and, if you're lucky, someone from StarClan may visit you in a dream."

When they got back to the RiverClan camp, the girls were eager to tell Rushpaw about their adventures. They quickly spotted him in the clearing, and hurried over to meet him, grabbing something from the fresh kill pile on their way over to him.

"Cool!" Rushpaw praised, after they told him of their wonderful adventure. "I remember my first day of training…" he trailed off, reminiscing in his old memories.

"I can't wait for newleaf!" Drizzlepaw thought happily, "Then We can hunt in the river!"

**Chapter 2**

New leaf came sooner then the two young apprentices had anticipated. They had already been through a moons worth of training, where they, disappointingly to Drizzlepaw, had not gone into the water. "You'd freeze your paws off!" Lakestorm had continually told her, every time she asked about it.

They were successfully getting through it though, and had learned many on land battle and hunting techniques. They also had gone on many border patrols, and got into one small fight.

Today, they would be hunting it the river. "Remember!" Rainpath said, eyeing Drizzlepaw, "Today you will be watching Lakestorm and I hunt. Ok?"

The girls nodded, and followed their mentors outside.

Since most of the snow had melted, the river had been spilling over and soaking the ground near the bed. The muddy earth squished beneath their paws, as they neared the river. The current was strong, and many of the visible fish were being carried away.


End file.
